Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Is That a Lightbulb I See Before Me, On the Cover of My New Regency Mystery?

Last week I posted the new cover for What Darkness Brings, due out next March:


Then one of my observant readers, Jan, pointed out that there was an electric light fixture in the picture!


If you only knew how many times I stared at that cover without seeing that light! I suppose my excuse (and it's a feeble one!) is that I was so focused on the male figure in the picture, I didn't see much else. I'm prohibited from showing you the original, but I can say that in the first version of the cover, the male figure did not look anything like I thought he should, to put it mildly. He had short hair, and no Mr. Darcy-like sideburns. He was also as pale as a vampire, his hair looked half gray, and he could have been forty-five years old. I sent them photos of Regency-era men's hairstyles and said, Please can you make his hair much longer and darker? And give him sideburns and more color? And tighten up his neck and give him more pronounced cheekbones and make him look a bit leaner and, and, and...

Yet in all that back and forth, I never looked up at the church gable and said, Oh, by the way, is that a lightbulb?

Of course, once it was pointed out to me, the danged thing stuck out like a proverbial sore thumb. I immediately sent a panicked email to my editor, and we've just this morning received word that, Yes, there is time to photoshop that oops out of the cover. I'll be posting the new version when it becomes available. From now on, my editor and I will be going over future covers with a magnifying glass!

So bless you, Jan. And yes, you most deserve a reward! Please see my response in the comments section of the previous post.

Update: Here's the new, corrected version.



22 comments:

Jan Power said...

*Happy Dances to Annapolis and Back*

cs harris said...

Jan, you need to send me an address. I can't tell you how grateful I am. This would almost have rivaled the famous Woman with Three Arms cover.

Anonymous said...

Dang.....I can't believe I didn't see it and get Jan's well-deserved prize. Jan, I'm SOOOOOOO jealous. Sabena

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

Too busy looking at Sebastian ;0

LOgalinOR said...

I think most of us were just staring at Sebastian and reflecting where that figure tied in with our own image/imagination.
The little light bulb that (almost) was, and never will be-LOL.
I am also, so very jealous, but congrats to Jan and her well-deserved prize.

Essex said...

Congrats to Jan and her eagle eyes! I never saw a thing amiss .

paz said...

When I saw it, I simply could not believe no one had noticed, and then said to myself "Well, clearly, this must not be a problem." I am very glad Jan spoke up, and certainly deserves a prize. Next time I will follow the ever present instructions of "If you see something, say something" LOL

cs harris said...

Sabena, I'm frankly glad everyone didn't see it, otherwise I'd really feel like an idiot.

Barbara, that's my excuse!

LOgalinOR, I'm going to try to set up an ARC giveaway, so everyone else will get a chance, too.

Essex, if you only knew how long I stared at it, and how many people I've shown it to!

Paz, you'll have to enter the drawing for the ARC giveaway that Penguin is supposed to be organizing for me. I'll post the details once I know them

Rachel Walsh said...

Wow, Jan* is* eagle-eyed! I completely missed that too. Great save, Jan. (And boy, the things you have to worry about as a writer, Candy, apart from the actual writing!)

Charles Gramlich said...

Glad someone caught it. The Sherlock Holmsian powers of some folks amaze me. I would never have seen it.

Jan Power said...

I absolutely cannot proof my own work; if I know what it is supposed to say or how it should look, my Gestalt goes into over-drive and I see what is in my head, not what is on the page. I guarantee I wouldn't have seen it had it been my own work.

They had Sebastian with a saggy neck? OMG! I would like to beat them over the head with Art Design for Dummies.

I am hyper-ventilating over the ARC, Candy. Words are to frail to express my joy and appreciation.

Firefly said...

I must admit, I was focusing on Sebastian as well and did not see the light bulb!

Good on you Jan.

paz said...

I was not suggesting that I too deserved a prize! Rather, I was laughing at myself for the fact that I had been so concerned about hurting your feelings or being seen as picky about the picture... LOL

Where can I find the famous cover of the Woman with Three Arms. It sounds fantastic ... and perhaps a little like the Matt Groening character in Futurama? ;-)

Anonymous said...
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cs harris said...

Jan, it's on its way.

Firefly, yes!

Paz, I knew you weren't! I just wanted to let you know you'd have another chance to snag an ARC, once we get this organized (at this point, it will probably be after Christmas).

The cover with the woman with the three arms is here: http://christinadodd.com/christina-dodd-and-the-infamous-three-armed-cover/

She actually used it to boost her career, because the cover became famous. But then, not noticing that the heroine portrayed on your cover has three arms is far more dramatic than not noticing an old electric light fixture in the shadows.

Anonymous said...
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Unknown said...

I am sooo excited for this book!! i was worried the series ended leaving us hanging with tons of questions still to be answered!!! i'm so glad the library had When maidens mourn on their books of the month..i picked it up because i liked the cover so much! found the first one and started reading them all! great books!

cs harris said...

Stephanie, thanks so much; that's great to hear!

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